IS LEMON WATER HARMFUL FOR YOUR TEETH ??

LEMON WATER

 CAN LEMON WATER BE HARMFUL 

           FOR YOUR TEETH??

       

   Who does not knows the benefits of lemon water, but no one knows that it can cause adverse effects on your teeth.   

Drinking lemon water daily early in the morning is a good health habit. Lemon water aids in digestion,providing nutrients to our body, boosts immunity, strengthens liver functions freshens breath, flushes toxins and many more.   

       So why not to have lemon water, could this be harmful and damaging to your teeth, lets find out.

  

EFFECTS OF LEMON WATER ON TEETH

Lemons are good source of vitamin C, but lemon juice is highly acidic. Lemons and lime juices are most acidic fruit juices of all with a pH of 2 - 2.6.

Enamel is the  hard protective covering of our teeth. Lemon water or juice tend to erode enamel due to its acidic effect and when your enamel erodes it become more prone to cavities and sensitivity, teeth also turns more yellowish.

Not only lemon water but other fruit juices and beverages like - 

 - Orange, Apple, grape, Amla etc.

 - white wine.

 - soda

 - sports drinks

 - tea and coffee.

Any beverage below pH of 5.5 can erode enamel.

HOW TO DRINK LEMON WATER :- 

  Lemon water have so many benefits and one drawback . So one cannot leave to drink lemon water. So what you can do to preserve your tooth enamel besides avoiding lemon water. Following are some ways :- 

- Limit the amount of lemon water, do not make intake of lemon water as your daily need, rather drink it occasionally or less regular.

- See how much lemon juice you are adding to your water, do not use a full lemon to add in a glass of water, a half slice of lemon or even less will be enough for your daily use.

- Use lemon water in diluted form, and drink this quickly rather than sipping it for long time. Don't use concentrated lemon juice or the packaged lemon juice.

- Use a straw - this will help to sip the lemon water more towards the back of your mouth making less contact with your teeth which prevent teeth from coming in contact with the acids of lemon.

- Rinse your mouth with normal plain water, every time you drink lemon water just rinse your mouth thoroughly and immediately with normal water. This will normalize your saliva and wash the acidic contents.

- Eat things that neutralizes the acid of lemon water, take dairy products like yogurt cheese or milk.

Very important, do not brush your teeth immediately after drinking lemon water. Infact do not brush for atleast an hour or more. Brushing after intake of lemon water can cause more harm to enamel.

- Use sugar free chewing gums, sweetened with xylitol. Xylitol alkalize  your mouth and neutralize  the acids. It also helps to clean the plaque.

- Even better, to brush your teeth before drinking lemon water and wait for few minutes after brushing. After brushing a healthy pellicle layer is formed which can act as a barrier against acids.

- Always use Luke warm or normal cold water, never use hot water or chilled water which can evoke the harmful effects even more.

- Do not mix sugar or other sweetening agents in the lemon water, this will promote the risk of caries even more.

   So just by keeping these simple things in mind you can enjoy your lemon water and even preserve your teeth loss. No risk to your oral health, as it's equally important.

HAVE A HEALTHY SMILE 😁

Thank You 

 REGARDS - Dr. MITALI PATEL